Today, one in two human beings lives in a city and by 2050 it is anticipated that seventy percent of the world's population will be living in an urban environment. This trend of rapid urbanization combined with global climate change will have far reaching consequences for our quality of life, health, and in particular, our mental wellbeing. 

The Center for Design + Health's mission is to understand how the design of our built environments can address these challenges so that our cities and the places we work and live are healthier and more nourishing for everyone. Our goal is to foster and apply research to design solutions that allow us to be fitter, happier, more productive, age better, live longer and help us all live together in a positive and meaningful way. Specifically, we aim to:

• Drive world-class scientific research in the neurological and psychological impact of environments on the human mind
• Translate basic research into design elements
• Promote excellence in teaching to educate a new generation of design-health professionals and leaders to promote a vision for healthy, inclusive places
• Generate impact and serve as the definitive 'go-to' design-health resource for Virginia and beyond
• Drive discourse within the disciplines of architecture, planning and landscape architecture as agents of health change